Eye10 or V11R

[deboy922]

I have carried a Nitecore D10 for years and loved it, but I left it at a recent motel stay 🙁

I now want to go with the 123 battery type for more lumens. I need low lumens for getting around the house late at night, high lumens for letting the dogs out on my 3-acre property, and I want pocketability.

After much lurking on CPF, I am ready to order a Niteye Eye10.

But...there is not a lot of info out there on the Eye10. The Sunwayman V11R looks great...there is a lot more information on it...and Selfbuilt has a fantastic
review. From limited info, the Eye10 seems to have more output, better low-lumen run-time, possibly warmer tint, smoother beam, and Subwoofer's review is great.

I think that I have ruled out the Jetbeam rrt-01 due to its smooth reflector, older LED emitter, and less lumen output. The Eagletac D25C was my first choice, but I do not think that I would like the UI, and I am not sure that the low output is low enough. The D25C also loses modes with a 16340 (I really like the thought of 500ish lumens on the Eye10 and V11R on 16340).

Please help me pull the trigger on 1 of these 2 lights or something better. I need a flashlight! Do not tell me to order both

Thanks for the fantastic forum that is a great resource to the flashlight enthusiast!

 

[edacsac]

I have a Fenix PD10 that is flaking out on me after a year, but I like the size and twisty. I'm looking for a replacement and hoping to find something of more overall quality, and secondarily, more lumens. I'm going to follow along.

I did buy a nitecore EC1 for S&G, but that is irrelevant to this thread, and doesn't replace the PD10/M11/Eye10 form factor.

I found this review:

http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb...eye-EYE10-vs-Sunwayman-M11R-comparison-Review

 

[deboy922]

edascac - You might want to check out the Eagletac D25C Mini as a replacement to your pd10. Originally, I thought I wanted the D25C Mini, but I am afraid the low may not be low enough. I also like variable output.

http://www.eagletac.com/html/d25cm/specs.html

 

[Phil Ament]

I thought that I would mention that you may just want to have a read of this thread here before you decide to purchase an Eye10 or any other Niteye product!

 

[cyclesport]

I have carried a Nitecore D10 for years and loved it, but I left it at a recent motel stay 🙁

I now want to go with the 123 battery type for more lumens. I need low lumens for getting around the house late at night, high lumens for letting the dogs out on my 3-acre property, and I want pocketability.

After much lurking on CPF, I am ready to order a Niteye Eye10.

But...there is not a lot of info out there on the Eye10. The Sunwayman V11R looks great...there is a lot more information on it...and Selfbuilt has a fantastic
review. From limited info, the Eye10 seems to have more output, better low-lumen run-time, possibly warmer tint, smoother beam, and Subwoofer's review is great.

I think that I have ruled out the Jetbeam rrt-01 due to its smooth reflector, older LED emitter, and less lumen output. The Eagletac D25C was my first choice, but I do not think that I would like the UI, and I am not sure that the low output is low enough. The D25C also loses modes with a 16340 (I really like the thought of 500ish lumens on the Eye10 and V11R on 16340).

Please help me pull the trigger on 1 of these 2 lights or something better. I need a flashlight! Do not tell me to order both

Thanks for the fantastic forum that is a great resource to the flashlight enthusiast!

I own both of these lights and each day it's a toss-up as which one I leave the house with. I love them both and routinely use them over many other single 123 lights including the D25c (have both the Ti & Alum and like these a lot too but the control ring UI of the V11R and Eye 10 is just so practical & useful for so many things ). I completely agree with your assessment of the Eye 10...it does have slightly higher output to the naked eye than the v11R, is a warmer tint (even though both use the XM-L U2), and it also has a floodier beam than the V11R with a larger hotspot and much larger spill beam that is totally flawless and it's low is so low it's barely detectable! You can find it if you search for just under $70 US but most places in the US ask closer to $80.

I prefer the UI on the V11R because I like being able to pre-set the output prior to activation and damped smooth contol ring...but the emitter is slightly off center (had the same problem w/the V10R Ti+ which I returned for a host of problems) and the beam is cooler and slightly ringy. Overall I like both but the Eye 10 is, and has been almost perfect in every way, (run time is a little less on 16430's or 18350 IMR's over most clicky's, but not by much) and it's rare I don't find some flaw with most production lights. Even at $80 it's a great buy...I don't believe you would be disapointed and it's output will certainly impress your non-torch friends!

*By the way, if you need longer run times, the Eye 15(?) will be released soon (not sure if it's available yet or not) basically making the Eye 10 a 18650 powered light.

 

[veedo]

i also have the eye10, and i have to say it is pretty awesome. smooth beam, great clip, solid build, and bright as hell for a small light. only concern i have with this type of light is i wonder how the control ring will hold up to pocket use over time, (sand, lint etc).

 

[edacsac]

edascac - You might want to check out the Eagletac D25C Mini as a replacement to your pd10. Originally, I thought I wanted the D25C Mini, but I am afraid the low may not be low enough. I also like variable output.

http://www.eagletac.com/html/d25cm/specs.html

I was thinking about that one too, but I think I'm getting sucked into the variable dimming idea of eye10.

Plus:

and it also has a floodier beam than the V11R with a larger hotspot and much larger spill beam that is totally flawless and it's low is so low it's barely detectable!

I think I'd enjoy a floodier light.

I thought that I would mention that you may just want to have a read of this thread here before you decide to purchase an Eye10 or any other Niteye product!

Hmm... I don't know if all of that really bothers me or not.

BTW, I didn't know there where flashlight geeks too.

 

[Dubois]

Do bear in mind that the Niteye does not officially support rechargeable cells. Although many owners use 16340 (or 18340) cells, the voltage is outside spec. I specifically asked Niteye about this; they didn't reply, so I didn't go ahead with an EYE10 purchase. In view of recent developments mentioned by Phil Ament, I'm glad I didn't. Actually, one of the few occasions in my experience, when a manufacturer hasn't been responsive.

 

[cyclesport]

Do bear in mind that the Niteye does not officially support rechargeable cells. Although many owners use 16340 (or 18340) cells, the voltage is outside spec. I specifically asked Niteye about this; they didn't reply, so I didn't go ahead with an EYE10 purchase. In view of recent developments mentioned by Phil Ament, I'm glad I didn't. Actually, one of the few occasions in my experience, when a manufacturer hasn't been responsive.

I hear you...and it's a reasonable caution. Many single CR123 light manufacturers don't specifically state thay support 3.7v Li-ions due to the excessive heat if left on too long, (liability and warranty issues foremost since someone will always run them too hot too long w/resulting damage) and since, from what understand, generally these lights are regulated for and designed around 3v primaries. This 3v. cell is what most buyers will use and the small form factor prevents full buck boost regulation usually. But flashaholics routinely use these cells w/some care and suffer no damage. That's not to say it couldn't happen, but these days it seems rare.

Incidentally, selfbuilt in his Eye 10 review on this forum did contact Niteye about this topic, as follows..."I queried this with Niteye, who said that RCR123 can be used with caution as this raises the output to far more than the heatsinking is designed to cope with. As long as maximum is not used for longer than 5 minutes, RCR123 can be used, but has the danger of overheating reducing LED lifespan".

Typical boilerplate "don't blame us if things go poof" language but I tend to interpret these statements as, yeah...you can use Li-ion's, but be careful. I use 123 rechargables everywhere I can in many lights and although I can't say w/certainty I haven't shortened the LED's life in some cases, or I won't eventually destroy an emitter, so far I've been okay. I guess I'm willing to risk it, being an inherently careful guy, and hope for the best.

 

[Dubois]

Yeah, I think I am careful too, and would use high mode sparingly - it's just that they didn't bother to respond (and the fact that the V11R and RRT-01 specifically covered the voltage range in their specs) that got my back up, slightly.

 

[deboy922]

Well, I am ready to pull the trigger on an Eye10. Now, where to purchase from? GoingGear has 10% off, free shipping, located in US, but their Eye10's are backordered :-(

Any suggestions?

 

[veedo]

i think hkequipment is the cheapest around, but it ships from over seas, might be a bit of a wait. i picked mine up from illuminationsupply. check out supertmanufacturing for some decent prices on 18350's if you want to go that route.

 

[deboy922]

Any discount codes for IlluminationSupply?

 

[cyclesport]

PM me and I can tell you where I bought mine for $69.95

 

[deboy922]

cyclesport - PM sent.

 

[cyclesport]

deboy922: I pm'd you twice with the where-to-buy info but my replys are not yet showing up in my "sent" folder? Not sure if there's a glitch with CPF or it just takes time to show up but if you don't see my reply(s) in a few hours...try pm'ing me again.

 

[deboy922]

cyclesport - Yes, I did receive 2 pm's from you. Thank you. And yes, the pm system seems to have a glitch. I have sent you 3 pm's, but none of them show in my "sent" folder either.

 

[deboy922]

Oops...Not a CPF glitch...Operator error on my part...In my "General Settings", I had selected "Don't save a copy of sent messages"...That will do it.

 

[edacsac]

Many retailers seem to be out of most of the interesting (to me) lights.

 

[deboy922]

Eye10 ordered...anxiously awaiting!!!